Hamilton clinches second F1 title at Abu Dhabi

Rosberg's hopes fade as his ERS goes on the fritz.

It could have been a nail-biter, but as Mercedes AMG's Nico Rosberg got off to a poor start and then succumbed to ERS (energy recovery system) issues, it quickly became Lewis Hamilton's race to lose. After Rosberg lost the fifth-place position—and with it his last shot at the Formula 1 Driver's Championship in the double-points finale, should his teammate have been forced to retire—all Hamilton needed to do was cruise. And cruise, he did, finishing the race off in a conservative fashion, only giving enough to hold onto the lead, clinching his second title in Abu Dhabi.

It wasn't difficult. While Felipe Massa did catch up a bit towards the end of the race, but wasn't a serious threat. He finished second, and his Williams teammate Valtteri Bottas rounded out the podium at third. Not on the podium was Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo, but he had a massively impressive drive, starting back from the pit lane due to a penalty incurred by running an illegal front wing during qualifying. The Aussie finished fourth, behind Bottas.

Getty Images

Jenson Button managed to finish 5th in what could be his final appearance for McLaren (or in F1 entirely). Sebastian Vettel, on the way to Ferrari, could only manage 8th place. And speaking of Ferrari, the highest-placed car from Maranello's troubled team was Fernando Alonso in 9th place, behind both Mercedes-powered Force India cars, with Kimi Raikkonen a position behind.

It's a far cry from 2008, when Hamilton just barely held off Massa to win his first World Championship by a single point—this season, the margin between Lewis and his Mercedes teammate was a full 67 points. Even considering the revised points scheme, that's an impressive feat.

A Part of Hearst Digital Media
Road & Track participates in various affiliate marketing programs, which means we may get paid commissions on editorially chosen products purchased through our links to retailer sites.